NeWater: New approaches to adaptive water management under uncertainty

The central tenet of the NeWater project was a transition from currently prevailing regimes of river basin water management into more adaptive regimes in the future.

This transition calls for a highly integrated water resources management concept. NeWater identifies key typical elements of the water management system and focuses its research on processes of transition of these elements to adaptive IWRM. Each key element is studied by novel approaches.

The complexity of water resource management poses many challenges. Water managers need to solve a range of interrelated water dilemmas, such as balancing water quantity and quality, flooding, drought, maintaining biodiversity and ecological functions and services, in a context where human beliefs, actions and values play a central role.

Furthermore, the growing uncertainties of global climate change and the long term implications of management actions make the problems even more difficult. NeWater addresses some of the present and future challenges of water management.

The project recognizes the value of highly integrated solutions and advocates integrated water resource management (IWRM) concepts. However, NeWater is based on the hypothesis that IWRM cannot be realized unless current water management regimes undergo a transition towards more adaptive water management.

NeWater Scientific ChallengeNeWater identifies key elements of current water management regimes and investigates their interdependence. Research is focused on transformation processes of these elements in the transition to adaptive integrated water resources management.

Key IWRM areas where NeWater delivered results include:

- governance in water management (methods to arrive at polycentric, horizontal broad stakeholder participation in IWRM)